Advertisement

Company Town

Share via

* Film: Walt Disney Co. said Monday that it has signed talk-show host Oprah Winfrey to an exclusive production deal. Under the agreement, Winfrey and her Harpo Films will produce motion pictures for Walt Disney Pictures over the next five years. Winfrey, who received an Academy Award nomination for her work in “The Color Purple,” will also star in some of the films. Harpo Films is planning an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Beloved,” starring Winfrey.

* Music: MCA Music Entertainment and Geffen Records have pulled out of the $1.5-billion record club business, sources said. The move follows Virgin Records’ decision earlier this year not to renew contracts with Columbia House, which is owned by Sony and Time Warner, and BMG Music, which is owned by Bertelsmann. Executives at MCA, Geffen and Virgin complain that record clubs cannibalize retail sales with come-ons to consumers that offer 10 compact discs for a penny. Retailers have long voiced the same complaint.

Advertisement